Gospel Soundcheck

Was The American Idol Result Really A “Gay vs Christian” Thing? Hardly.

Much has been made over the last few days about the surprise upset on season 8 of American Idol, when the aw, shucks guy next door Kris Allen beat out glam rocker Adam Lambert for the title of American Idol.

It was a surprise only if you weren’t reading this blog.I called Kris Allen the winner back in April, before anyone even thought he’d make it to the top 5. But it wasn’t the faith angle – or homophobia, or gays voting against Christians and not having enough power to push their contestant to a win – that propelled him to a win. It was musical preference.

Don’t get me wrong. I think Adam Lambert is wildly talented, and I noticed his big voice way back in Hollywood week. Kris Allen? Not so much, probably because he was rarely featured in the audition clips. (Was he even featured at all?)

And it was clear that the judges were gunning for an Adam Lambert win, Simon Cowell even going so far as to tell viewers to vote for Lambert.

But I’m a girl who knows a good radio hit; I grew up on bubble gum pop, from Donny Osmond to Shaun Cassidy to – well, think every hit pop song of the 70s. And while my musical tastes have grown … a bit … it doesn’t take a masters’ degree in music to recognize which of those two final contestants was likely to put out more radio friendly music.

The truth is that many, many Christians didn’t even know that Kris Allen was a Christian. While his home church, New Life Church in Conway, Arkansas, started the season with weekly watching parties, they eventually teamed up with the city of Conway for weekly Idol celebrations.

If Christians were voting for anyone simply based on faith, it was Danny Gokey, who was very open about his faith. His church was also very active in promoting their two contestants (both Gokey and Jamar Rogers are from Faith Builders International). Gokey’s faith was an intregal part of his story. And while yes, I do think there were Christians voting for him because of his faith, by and large Christians were voting for the contestant whose music they liked best.

Think about it: if Christians really were voting only for Christian contestants, why were the Christians voted off? Why did Allison and Adam even stick around to the top 5, with 6 worship leaders or Christian artists in the top 13?

Gokey had a compelling personal story that resounded in the hearts of many viewers, regardless of their religion. But as the season progressed, my readers, at least, started to voice some annoyance at the constant reminders about his dead wife. It was starting to seem exploitive.

And vocally, while Gokey is a great singer, he didn’t have the ability to interpret a song the way Allen does.

Kris Allen and Adam Lambert are at opposite ends of the musical spectrum (just look at the clip I’ve featured here). It’s James Taylor vs. Aerosmith. While you can like both, if you were going to plop down hard earned money, you likely probably prefer one over the other. And that’s who you voted for.

I like Adam Lambert. I think the guy has a long career ahead of him. But I didn’t vote for him because I really don’t love his style of music. Kris Allen? Love that kind of music, which is why you’ll see my favorite CDs are likely to be John Mayer or Norah Jones. It doesn’t mean I don’t like rock; I love rock. But while I’ve just about worn out Daughtry’s album, there isn’t any Kiss or Rolling Stones anywhere.

As for the notion that it was a “gay vs. Christian” Idol – seriously, we need to get over this idea that everything in American is an “us vs them” mentality. It was a glam rocker vs a guy with a guitar. That’s it. There were tons of my readers who are Christians who voted for Adam Lambert, and tons of non-Christians who voted for Kris Allen. There were people in Arkansas who voted for Adam, and there were people in California who voted for Kris. There were “red state” voters who prefer Adam, and “blue state” voters who opted for Kris. It had nothing to do with religion, sexual orientation, or politics.

Besides, I firmly believe that if the final two had been Danny Gokey and Adam Lambert, Lambert would have won hands down.

That’s because viewers who liked Kris Allen liked him from an artistic standpoint; they also respected Adam Lambert for the same reason. They chose Kris Allen because they liked his style of music better, but had Kris Allen been voted off, they would gladly have supported Adam Lambert’s artistic qualities.

That it came down to Lambert and Allen simply meant that people were voting for the end of the spectrum they preferred: classic rock and guyliner or the guy next door with a guitar.

For those who continue to question whether faith or homophobia factored in, I’d just suggest that perhaps they’re just looking for the argument du jour, and when some other pop culture non-issue arises that they can latch on to and spin into a gay vs. Christian thing, they’ll move on from this one.

Hmmm. I guess you must not have listened to the studio versions of Adam Lambert’s American Idol songs. If you had, you’d have realized that you’re talking out your ass. Maybe you really don’t know, but the studio versions are VERY different than the live audience versions. And he seemed to have done that deliberately. Maybe you also don’t know that Adam’s studio performances album has hold steady as the #2 album since 2 days after the finale and it was #1 the day after the finale. Must be something radio friendly about it. Heh.
As for Adam’s style of music that you don’t which one is it…
the rock?
the r&b
the ballads,
the opera (check youtube)
the musicals
or you just don’t like his voice. Because he can sing just about anything. Unlike Kris. Don’t get me wrong, I like Kris, but I know what I’m going to get with him. And I like that about Kris. With Adam, anything is possible, because he can sing anything. And I LOVE that about him. There nothing more interesting than a surprise, especially an artistic surprise. What could be better than that?

You make an interesting case, but you do not persude. I challenge you, this: go to You tube. listen (with the sound, down, if you like) to Adam Lambert’s five most popular videos –read the comments. then, do the same for kris. (by the way, he has a new religious tune posted with nearly a thousand hits. adults aren’t the only ones who buy music. then please write a follow up article. i’ll be waiting and very interested in what you have to say — or write as the case may be.

The author wrote, “The truth is that many, many Christians didn’t even know that Kris Allen was a Christian.”
The truth is many many many people did not even know who Kris Allen was before the win. Kris who?
Kris “does not deserve to win” Allen as his middle name seems to be is up there because of 3 things:
1) God hates Adam because he is gay – Don’t vote for Adam- vote for the other guy. Just search the Net for all the gay-bashing comments on Adam. Many old AI videos in the tube were deleted bu the gay-bashing comments were at an all-time high for Adam.
2) Anti-Adam Lambert Revolution because Adam was pimped by AI, etc. – The lesson here is try start out below-average in the competition then progress to being mediocre at the end so the judges don’t appreciate your performances (aka pimp you). If you get pimped by the judges or anyone, the Americans will not vote for you and they will vote for the other guy.
3) Danny fans should vote for Kris because Adam is already a star plus this and that.
Essentially, America screwed over Adam Lambert because he is gay, too good and too popular. And all Adam did was perform each week.
So America voted for the other guy whoever the he** he was.

Thank you so much for your article. I absolutely adore Adam, and have grown quite fond of Kris. After having several days to think this over, I do believe you’re absolutely correct in your assessment. I happen to be one of those people who love James Taylor and Axl Rose. With all my heart, I believe the best two made the finals. Both from an artistic standpoint and wonderful caring people. I hope people can move on from this. It’s over. Support your favorite by buying their music. If you are truly a fan of Adam, focus on the positive as he has and be happy that we now have him because of AI. These guys are great friends, and as Adam has said that Kris is one of the most open minded people he’s ever met, I hope you all will be too.
Peace, love, and Adam….

Lucky me, I love both Kris and Adam, the variety is fine by me, so I get double the fun.
There are people who still don’t realize that even the 5th place contestants are going to be successful.They already have millions of fans in place. American Idol set them up for success~Many voted for one of the two finalists, who although liking them, still have their personal fav elsewhere-that vote will be made with wallets!That vote may cut into the numbers of one or another of the finalists.
Already the itunes downloads show numbers reflecting a different choice than final votes.
The singing contest is over, move on,Kris is great American Idol.Rejoice !Cuz ,a note on Adam being gay or bi or whatever-because he has appeal to women and men, young to old he has been labeled in daily rock and roll “glam rock sex god” Lambert’s fans can relax that Adam does not have live an a fishbowl or meet what someone else decides fits their idol image because that word is used. All is well.

American Idol for the most part promotes coffee house singers. Their music is easy to the ears taking very little effort in the actual listening. Coffee house music is also relatively simple to write, arrange and deliver. Kris will make a great coffee house musician. He does and will appeal to many. I might even buy some of his songs. On the other hand, Adam is a complex artist with a broad musical range. He delivers music that challenge us, entertain us, and makes us appreciate music for what it is: true art which touches the soul. I know that most prefer the commercial music that is easily digested. I will stick with the challenge and follow musicians that are more creative and can elevate music to higher levels of artistry. I will closely watch what Adam produces. Like many of you I have high expectations for him and I am more than willing to support his artistry. If you think Adam can only sing “shrieky” rock, just listed to his rendition of “Come to me, bend to me” from Brigadoon recorded 5 years ago. The link to youtube should be part of this message. Thank you.

Kris’s “win” says nothing about America” taste but more about corporate America and how they want to tell us what to like, how to act and what to think. The “vote” was not about the people, it was about a back wood’s state that produced “Slick Willy” and shamelessly acknowledged just how they commandeer the win from Adam with the help of American Idol corporate sponsor, AT&T. It is yet to be determined weather it was done unilaterally by the Conway AT&T spokesperson whose son played in Kris Allen’s pre Idol band or if the corporate heads played a part. If I were AT&T I would acknowledge what happened, claim ignorance at the top and put heads on the chopping block for those involved. The Kris win did not only unseat Adam but Danny as well. Recently Kris’s mother said that her son won because he was so “good looking” (not! I hate little bitty men) and that he did not have “skeletons in his closet”. Well now Kris your big skeleton is what you did to Adam and Danny! It shows what kind of narrow-minded bigots Kris comes from, and what “good Christians” they are for unseating contestants that deserve the win more then their marginally talented son. The FCC is bound to be involved before long.

Regardless of the reason there was an unusual surplus of votes coming from a somewhat small part of the country which skewed the result. In other words, if you didn’t count Kris’s home town, the average in the rest of America seemed to favor Adam somewhat more. And it’s interesting that the area of the country that has the surplus of votes is also in a region that’s at the heart of the bible belt. I’m not saying it’s full of people who hate gays, but you have to realize that there is a higher percentage of people that are less accepting of someone like Adam. Let’s face it. The deep south is less tolerant of people with differences. For example, black people are less tolerated and these areas would be less likely to vote for Obama for example. And during debates most of those states usually went for Bush or McCain, not the black man. And it’s not something I’ve stirred up in the imagination, but anyone who knows a little history knows this. Anyone who closely followed that knew it. Again, not saying there is only one kind of person there that votes that way. There are all sorts of people in these regions, but I’m talking about the tendency to be less tolerant. And I know, I have family there. I’ve visited there many times and met many people. So again, it’s not made up.
Then there was the fact that AT&T handed out free phones and taught people how to power text vote in an efficient manner. In a small town, that sort of thing spreads quickly by word of mouth. Especially since there were also radio stations helping. You can text 60 to 70 times faster than you can dial. It’s not a matter of being smart enough to know it. It’s just an idea. Once people are shown how, it’s easy. But if they are not shown, many don’t even think of it. So they got a lot of votes in quickly, in a concentrated area that may be somewhat less accepting of a gay man and that doesn’t go well with their idea of what they might think Christianity is.
Ask any one that voted based on this and they will lie through their teeth. They will never admit it. I’m not sure, but I think men tend to be biased this way and woman less so. Being that you are a girl, it probably doesn’t matter much. Woman tend to be more accepting of gay men. And of course there are plenty of people mixed in that vote for Kris only because they liked his musical style. So it’s sort of a mess to figure out. But I keep noticing that most people in general agree that they think Adam should win.
If you add these factors together, then yes, it’s possible that there was just enough to push Kris over to a win even though most would think it would be Adam. You indicate it mostly if not all about musical preference, but it’s sounding all too much like someone defending the winner. I mean it’s enough that Kris won. That’s great. But assuming it’s only about being “radio friendly” assumes that we know the proportions of how many fans like Adam’s style vs Kris’s style. Some don’t vote 100% on style, but on talent if are able to accept listening to a 2nd favorite style.
II do agree with you to an extent, but this “radio friendliness” wouldn’t fully explain away the general consensus that seemed to favor Adam. So it seems like your article is trying to get away from the idea that it could be a possibility that Adam lost some votes due to being gay. I’ve read numerous posts where fans have said things like, “I want my young song to have a good role model, and I think American Idol should be about choosing a good singer and role model”, etc etc. So it’s very real that some people are getting hung up on Adam’s black nail polish and eye liner. But the write up seems like a long drawn out way of saying, Kris was really the better over all artist and that’s why he won.
I don’t believe it’s all that simple. Idols can be shifted a position or a few to the top for other reasons sometimes. Nikki McKibbon of season 1 wasn’t a great singer in comparison to Kelly Clarkson, or Tamyra Grey. However because voters thought a single mom should win it, she kept advancing. And she knew it! That’s why she’d have them bring the baby up on stage. Fantasia was somewhat similar with her hard luck story. Danny knew his story helped matters, so now and then there were subtle hints about his wife’s passing. And some fans believed that Sophie would be happy if Danny could win, so they voted out of pity. I have a friend who’s son said he liked Adam, but voted Danny because “he was the only one with a real story”. He’s 14. go figure. You also said that while people wouldn’t vote on faith, but they would for Danny. Anyone reading forums knew that Danny voters would almost unanimously vote for Kris and not Adam. And many Danny voters, as you eluded to were drawn to his faith etc. Sure you can know someone that didn’t, but it’s pretty obvious that most only would switch to Kris. Which pretty much also shows it can be about religion and faith for some. It also shows that it’s not always about talent or vocal ability.
That said, I do agree that style is some of the factor, but saying it’s the main deciding factor seems to be overly simplistic. I still feel that Adam lost due to a huge surge of votes coming from a concentrated area that was fueled by reasons that were not all about stylistic choices. But again. There being 1st or 2nd doesn’t really matter that much any way. They Kris and Adam will both have big contracts.

I agree with your hypothesis about why Kris Allen won. The religion factor was nowhere near the deciding one, if one at all. No matter how many times Mr. Cowell spouts “This is a singing contest”, we know that he knows that American Idol is primarily a popularity contest. Yes, the more talented singers generally make it through to the Top 5. But when it comes down to #1, it’s the singer with the widest appeal or listenability according to the largest cross-section of voters who triumphs. Total Democracy. And I do believe that voters, yes, even Christian voters, vote according to their musical taste. If you’ve tuned into your local Christian radio station lately, you know that the styles are about the same as Top 40 radio.
Few would argue that Steven Tyler or Freddie Mercury are some of the most powerful, enigmatic front men rock has ever seen, but they are more of an acquired taste compared to, say, Elton John. When Average Joe or Joanne just wants to brighten their day with some good solid tunes in the background, usually bombastic vocal acrobatics are not the first thing they scroll to. That’s the preference of the American general public… and who can argue with musical preference? Furthermore, to the average teenage girl, Adam’s guyliner is a tad off-putting, whereas Kris’ zachefronity is pure eye candy! I suspect that most of the people who vote on Idol every week are by in large the same ones who listen Adult Contemporary Hit Radio, not Rock, Alternative, Rap, or Indie Radio. And if I’m a Gokey supporter, I’m thinking it’s a much bigger leap for me to start supporting Lambert than Allen. There’s something about Kris that made him most palatable and relatable to the majority of voters, which, coincidentally, is the very thing that propels me into deep depression. Even though I greatly preferred Adam’s performances, and was just as mortified as anyone when Seacrest finally uttered Kris’ name – I get it. Not to put down Kris’ singing, but there are mediocre-to-crappy singers making butt-loads of money on album sales every day simply because they’ve managed to tap into what the larger slice of music buyers want on their iPods. Fact of life: most people do not hold Music Performance degrees. They just know what they like and don’t like. And many, including me, underestimated the power of popularity. More often than not, it will trump raw talent.
If AI were a scientific appraisal of the amount of ability, measuring vocal range, pitch, clarity, tone, control, variation, elasticity, projection, confidence, and charisma (as if there could ever be such a thing) Adam would win, hands down. Kris would barely make Top 12. And there would be no need for voters. American Idol is no such thing. Never will be. The voters win, to my chagrin. And, Dawg, that’s just how it is for me… for you.

It’s really disgusting and pathetic on how some Glambert fans are acting, especially when Adam himself was gracious in defeat. They should take a cue from him.
It’s also disappointing that if you can’t out sing Aretha Franklin, Patti Labelle, Celine Dion, etc, is that you’re automatically considered “mediocre” (as what poster Marc seem to allude to). So I guess John Lennon, James Taylor, Carole King, etc fall into the ‘mediocre category then?
In the end, the vote is decided depending on your preference, plain and simple. When you listen to Adam, you’re like ‘Whoa!’. But at the end of the day, I’ll still listen to Kris’ cd.

I have love and respect for all the top 10 Idol finalists. They all worked their butts off and should be so proud of themselves. I think Kris needed to win for his careers sake. I think Adam did not need the win, his career will soar on his own merits. Idol did provide Adam with the needed “platform” with which to show a variety of the types of things he is able to do. It also garnered him a HUGE worldwide fan base.
For those who have not heard Adam’s studio versions…of the songs he performed on Idol, I suggest giving them a try. They are extremely RADIO FRIENDLY, and, I have heard some of them played in my area. Adam himself has said that his debut CD would probably be a variety of things, and of course, this is audio only. He has said, the VISUAL performances of his songs are a whole other ballgame. In that context, I can foresee his debut CD becoming a big hit, worldwide.
The only thing that continues to bother me is the voting. Several things in particular:
1) It was reported that 38 mil out of the 100 mil votes came out of the state of Arkansas…whose population is 2.5 mil. ??? Yeah…the numbers just do not add up. I guess AI sponsor did help out with that one.
2) What is with those “college” students? Something fishy here too. How hundreds of them used computer technology to jam Adam’s phone lines by dialing them and then staying on the line for the entire recording. Their other computers voting non stop for Kris at a rapid rate. Estimate is they got 7.5 votes in for Kris per every 1 vote for Adam, and effectively tied up Adam’s phone lines so hardly anyone else phone dialing could get through…until the last hour.
So, IMHO, the Idol title was won by what is known as CHEATING. I doubt that Christianity/sexual preference had much to do with it.
Adam did not lose American Idol. American Idol lost Adam. What a shame, as it will, in the long run, prove to be a shallow win for Kris, who is talented and a very nice guy. Adam will do fine.

I have to state my bewilderment at the American Idol voting system. Yes, Kris is a fine guy. I tried for 4 hours to vote for Adam (redialing like a crazy person) and I had busy signals the first 3 hours and connected just 10 times that last hour. Plus 38 people I personally know in my immediate area had the exact same result. And my relatives had the exact same result in another adjoining state trying to vote for Adam. In my opinion, invalid input = invalid output.

Frankly, if Adam is to have the big career that is being predicted for him, musical tastes will have to shift to a more glam rock and theatrical sound that has not really hit the airwaves in quite a while. So, while I was an Adam fan, I have to admit, Kris has the more popular sound. Look how well he meshed with Keith Urban on the finale while Adam had to reach back to Kiss and Queen. He has a lot in common with great rock ‘n’ roll and theatricality, but it’s an era that last saw the Hot 100 20 years ago. Yes, I like Adam, and hope he does do well. But America voted for what it’s listening to today.

To everyone yapping about some AT&T conspiracy: I have no idea what you’re talking about but I’ll see if I can read up on it. One of my readers explained that the best way to get through on voting was to use a landline, if that helps.
As for the whole conspiracy to stay on the line through the entire recording to jam Adam’s lines so you couldn’t vote: Yes, you’re right. You caught us. It’s one big conspiracy. We use homing pigeons to carry our messages nationwide the day before the performance show so we can coordinate our evil plan to vote off anyone who isn’t of the same faith, and we write in code and invisible ink so you can’t intercept the plans.
Yeesh. Do you guys listen to yourselves? LOL Next you’ll be saying Kris Allen won because he’s actually an alien life form created by the government to brainwash America to buy Christian music and then convince Congress to have the 10 Commandments printed on the dollar bill.
Joanne
host of the GS blog

Marc, only another singer would base his Idol voting on vocal range, pitch, clarity, tone, control, etc. Don’t you know we mid-40s women vote for the cuter contestant? It’s like betting on the Super Bowl – who has the prettier uniforms?
Joanne
host of the GS blog

Thanks for the article but it is NOT convincing at all. It is pathetic to see the rest of the world embracing Adam more than his own country the US. Adam lost because Americans did not want a gay idol for their teens to look up to. But gays are a fact of life and you cannot run away from it. They are God’s children too. And it is only up to God to judge them. Majority of Gokey votes went to Kris because Gokey (the church educated dude) right after the finale went on CNN and declared Kris as the winner. Why did he not stay neutral? Even if he was asked the question he should have stayed neutral and not effect his voters ideas. All the others were asked as well but not one called it out for any of the two. Gokey was told by his church leaders to make sure Adam is losing. How do you explain all this unfairness? Kudos to Kris for being such a great person and calling him a jerk on Larry King Live. He knows it as well that Adam deserved this. THis is not a singing contest. Anyway let Kris be the American Idol (i really wish him the best for being such a NICE guy), Adam is already the World Idol.
God Bless you all
a heterosexual.

If Adam could get people to like his kind of music on the show, I have no doubts that he will have a successful career. He has the personality and stage presence that is going to attract people, and make them want to buy his albums or concert tickets. I’m not convinced that Kris has what it takes to put on an arena sell out show. Adam? No doubts whatsoever. He wants to do an album that basically includes everyone: electropop, pop, rock, funk, and glam rock. As and Adam fan, let’s face it: we all know Adam is a star and will be a star without this title. Kris? Personally, if he didn’t win, I don’t think he would be remebered. There’s winning the show and winning in the career round, 2 different competitions.

Wanna know how faith and homophobia factored in?
Americans voted the “freaky femme” looking guy out of the competition. Not necessarily because he was gay but rather because in this society an effeminate man is frowned upon, seen as weak. A masculine woman however is seen as a strength,eg. Ellen Degeneres, Rachel Maddow etc..
Many christians believe that women and men are different and serve different purposes etcand that women were created as a complement to man. These individuals do not appreciate a blurring or a blending of the genders and are usually uncomfortable at the sight of effeminate men. Not always the case with masculine women funnily enough. It seems masculinity is a good quality in all but but only women should be effeminate.

pastorjpruitt is the name of Gokey’s pastor who wrote messages on Tweeter telling people to vote for Danny. Original twweter messages below between an adam fan (not me) and him. After this the adam fan got blocked by Danny Gokey.
Boy that will make KRIS happy to know he won because of religion, NOT talent! good going @pastorjpruitt
11:25 AM May 20th from web
so if ADAM LAMBERT loses its because of rollover votes?
11:24 AM May 20th from web
so is http://twitter.com/pastorjp… collecting rollover votes from danny?
11:23 AM May 20th from web
ITS A TALENT CONTEST! GET OVER YOUR RELIGION!
10:20 AM May 20th from web
CONT. awesome young man from a great…about 18 hours ago from mobile web http://www.faithbuilders.cc/
10:19 AM May 20th from web
WTF! http://twitter.com/pastorjp… Everyone who voted for @dannygokey should vote for Kris Allen! We need a believer to represent!
10:18 AM May 20th from web

LutheranChik – obviously you don’t read this blog regularly, or you would know that I frequently bring up the reality that there are many gay artists in both regular Christian music and the “gay Christian” industry.
And I would question the “many gay people are Christian,” the same way I’d question the notion that American is a Christian nation. Whether you are or aren’t a Christian is a matter of the heart between you and God, so I’d be very cautious about generalizing.
Joanne
host of the GS blog

Sonata, the irony is that Adam Lambert has reacted to being runner up in a much more gentlemanly and professional way than his fans. All of those who are looking to argue and act like bad sports are only shedding a bad light on Adam, who quite frankly is an all around nice guy, from what I’ve seen. He and Kris were supportive of each other, and no one was more surprised by the outcome than Kris.
Get over it. It’s a TV show. The fate of the world doesn’t hang in the balance of American Idol. Seems to me that there are a lot of people just looking for a reason to argue, and Adam being runner up gives them a reason until the next pop culture crisis emerges.
Joanne
host of the GS blog.

Rich, finally! A voice of reason! Thanks for the rational comment, LOL! Great comment.
(PS: Everyone, you can read more of Rich’s thoughts on pop culture at http://copiousnotes.bloginky.com/)
Joanne
host of the GS blog

Frankly I think Kris Allen won because he sings well and does not yell when doing so. I was more than happy with the vote and I’m from San Diego. May Kris have a wonderful future, I am sure Adam will go a long way too.e8jka6

It’s sickening and disgusting the way some Adam Lambert fans are reacting to his loss, when he himself was gracious in defeat. If they are true fans of his, they should look up to him and follow his example. These fans do not realize that they are starting to alienate prospective Adam fans.
It’s also sad that conspiracy theories are abound regarding the results. From sexuality, religion, and the latest is the alleged At&T fixing the votes and providing free phones to Kris Allen supporters. Stop it already!!! The show is over and Kris and Adam are moving on!

Remember this is AMERICAN Idol. Besides being a great performer Kris is the ultimate american musician: a guy with a guitar. Nothing can’t beat that. Think Johnny Cash, James Taylor and lately John Mayer. Adam Lambert is more the British style: Freddie Mercury, Elton John, Rod Stewart. It was a very obvious american choice…

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